Applying session services based on packet flows

ABSTRACT

Session services are employed in a networked computing environment to apply specific processing to an exchange of data between processes. In a wireless communication network, a single wireless link is typically shared among multiple users through wireless channels, which are allocated and switched among the users on a demand basis. Packets sent over the wireless link need to be signaled and tagged accordingly to initiate and employ the session service for the intended packets which comprise the flow. A method for identifying and applying session services to a wireless link includes identifying a packet flow over the wireless link corresponding to a received message by employing a flow identifier and filter. The packet flow corresponds to a session, and is mapped to at least one session service. The mapped session service is then applied to the received message. A session service may therefore be transparently applied to a packet flow over a wireless link independently of the other packet flows which may also be transmitted over the wireless link.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] In a networked computing environment, session services are oftenemployed to apply specific processing to an exchange of data betweenprocesses. Such an exchange, or session, usually includes a sequence ofpackets, also called a packet flow, which share a common context, andwhich can collectively benefit from the application of one or moresession services. Packet flows are typically employed between processescommunicating via the network, often in a client/server arrangement. Asession service may include, for example, different types of protocolconversion or protocol optimizations, such as proxy services and headercompression, and may be transparent to an end user.

[0002] Often, a single physical connection, such as a dialup modem line,carries many packets corresponding to a plurality of packet flows.However, a session service is typically applied to the physicalconnection as a whole. Accordingly, a particular session service isapplied to all packets transmitted via the physical connection.Application of the session service does not distinguish among differentpacket flows carried over the connection. Individual flows, therefore,and the associated processes, may incur the processing overheadassociated with a particular session service regardless of whether thesession service is needed or desired for the packet flow in question.

[0003] In a wireless communication network, a wireless link is typicallyshared among multiple users through wireless channels, which areallocated and switched among the users on a demand basis by a scheduler.Packets sent over the wireless link need to be signaled and taggedaccordingly to initiate and employ the session service for the intendedpackets which comprise the packet flow. Accordingly, it would bebeneficial to provide a mechanism for signaling initiation of aparticular session service by the sender and receiver over the wirelesslink, and for tagging affected packets to indicate which session serviceto apply to each packet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In a wireless communication system, a method for identifying andapplying session services to a wireless link comprises establishing aconnection including the wireless link and receiving a message fortransmission via the connection. A packet flow is identified orestablished over the wireless link corresponding to the received messageby employing a flow identifier and a transmission profile filter. Thepacket flow corresponds to a session, and is mapped to at least onesession service. The mapped session service is then applied to thereceived message. In this manner, a session service may be transparentlyapplied to a packet flow over the wireless link independently of theother packet flows which may also be transmitted over the same wirelesslink.

[0005] A particular packet flow (flow) is associated with one or moresession services to be applied to packets (messages) sent via the flow.The flow is identified either by a flow ID in the message itself, or bymatching the message to a transmission profile indicative ofcharacteristics of the flow. The characteristics of the flow establish apacket stream context, or common denominator, of the packets comprisingthe flow. For example, packets comprising streaming audio informationare typically large, while http packets including ACK (acknowledgment)notifications are relatively small. Identification of the packet flowallows complementary session services to be applied at each endpoint ofthe wireless link, i.e. header compression applied when sending via thewireless link must be decompressed upon receipt.

[0006] A traffic flow mapping message is employed to initiate the flowand associate the session service(s) with the flow. Therefore, bothendpoints of the wireless link, typically a base station processor (basestation) and a subscriber access unit (subscriber) can identify the flowand related session service.

[0007] The session services may be identified by reference to a table ofapplicable session services. Once established, the session service isapplied to all packets in the flow. In alternate embodiments, such atable may be stored in a common repository, and thus downloaded from aremote source in a standardized form. Standardization of the sessionservices table would allow widespread dissemination and recognition ofthe session service identifiers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention.

[0009]FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system employing wirelesscommunication links operable for use with the present invention;

[0010]FIG. 2 shows wireless packet flows over a wireless link between asubscriber access unit and a base station processor;

[0011]FIG. 3 shows mapping of packet flows to session services in theflow mapper;

[0012]FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for mapping packet flows to sessionservices;

[0013]FIGS. 5a and 5 b show an example of a process instantiating a newpacket flow; and

[0014]FIG. 6 shows downloading of session service identifiers from acommon global repository.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows.

[0016] In a wireless communication network, a wireless link provides aconnection between sending process and receiving processes. The wirelesslink is typically a portion of the entire connection between the sendingand receiving process, which also includes wired links on each side ofthe wireless link. A connection between sending and receiving processescomprises a packet flow. Each packet flow, represents a particularpacket flow context indicative of the type of data carried between theprocesses, such as Internet web pages or streaming audio. There may bemultiple connections, and hence, multiple packet flows, between asending process and a receiving process. Further, each flow may includepackets of different sessions between multiple peer processes. Sinceeach flow has a particular packet flow context, indicative of asubstantive characteristic of the type of data carried, it may bebeneficial to apply a particular session service to each flow.

[0017] A session service is a dual ended or peer to peer mechanism thateither adds functionality to an existing user data session or provides anew application capability. A session service, therefore, results in anadditional processing step applied to or performed on a packet. Asession service may provide a protocol optimization, such as headercompression, a protocol conversion, such as a TCP proxy service, or aseparate application for additional processing, such as QOS (Quality OfService) processing and verification, or encryption. Other sessionservices may be applied in accordance with the present invention. In aparticular embodiment, the TCP proxy service is as defined in copendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/850,531, filed May 7, 2001, entitled“Dual Split Proxy Gateway for Improving Throughput Performance Over aWireless Interface,” (Attorney's Docket No. 2479.2079-001) incorporatedherein by reference. In a wireless communications network, the sessionservice may be applicable only to the flow over the wireless link, ormay be applicable to the entire connection, and carried through(continuous) from the wired links over the wireless link.

[0018]FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system 10 employing wirelesscommunication links operable for use with the present invention.Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of subscriber access units 14 a-14 care in wireless communication with a base station processor 16 (basestation) via wireless links 22. The base station 16 is also incommunication with a data network such as the Internet 18 via a wiredlink 20. The subscribers 14 provide wireless Internet access to customerpremises equipment (CPE) 32 generally, such as desktop PCs 32 a, 32 c,personal digital assistants (PDAs) 32 b and wireless phones 32 d throughwired links 24. It should be noted that the wireless functionalityprovided by the subscriber access unit 14 may be in a stand alone deviceor embedded in the CPE 32 unit invoked by a user 32′. In either case theCPE 32 is operable to communicate with the Internet 18, and thus withremote nodes 26, via the base station 16 by employing the wired links20, 24 and the wireless links 22.

[0019]FIG. 2 shows wireless packet flows over a communication linkbetween a subscriber 14 and a base station 16. Referring to FIG. 2 andalso to FIG. 1, the wireless link 22 between the subscriber 14 and thebase station 16 further comprise packet flows 28. A packet flow 28corresponds to one or more sessions over the wireless link 22, and ispart of the connection (session) between processes which includes thewired links 20, 24. Each of the sessions in the packet flows 28corresponds to a process P1, P2, or P3 at the subscriber 14. Acomplementary process P1′, P2′ and P3′, either a sender or receiver,resides at a remote end of the connection on one of the remote nodes 26.A flow mapper 30 resides in the subscriber 14 and in the base station16, at each endpoint of the wireless link 22, for assigning anddetermining the packet flow corresponding to each message packet, andfor applying the respective session service, both described furtherbelow.

[0020] It should be noted that a packet flow includes packets that arerelated due to sharing a common denominator, such as a particular typeof content. A packet flow, as described above, therefore may includepackets corresponding to one or more sessions between peer processes.The term “session” denotes a connection between two applicationprocesses, between which packets are related because of a common sourceand destination. The correspondence between sessions and packet flows istypically dependent on the protocol and processes so communicating, andincludes parameters such as source address, destination address, sourceport, destination port, and protocol in a TCP connection, for example(sometimes called a 5-tuple). Other packet flow/session mappings may beknown to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the packets sent inconjunction with the session may fall into one or more of the packetflows, as described further below with respect to applying sessionservices to the flow.

[0021] Therefore, connections are established between each of theprocesses and their complementary counterparts: P1-P1′, P2-P2′, andP3-P3′, employing the wired 20, 24 and wireless 22 links. Messagepackets sent over the wireless link 22 from one process to another areassigned to a flow 28 by the flow mapper 30 on the sending side of thewireless link 22, and identified as belonging to that flow 28 by theflow mapper 30′ on the receiving side. The flow mapper 30 on the sendingside applies the session service(s) associated with the assigned(determined) flow, and the flow mapper 30′ on the receiving side alsoapplies the session service(s) associated with the determined flow.

[0022] As described above, the flow mapper 30, 30′ resides on bothendpoints of the wireless link, at the subscriber 14 and the basestation 16, and identifies packets as received from the wired link 20,24 or the wireless link 22. When a packet is received from the wirelesslink 22, it already has a flow ID appended to it by the sender, eitherthe subscriber 14 or base station 16. The received flow ID is mapped toa list of known flow IDs to determine the flow, and hence determines thesession services associated with that flow.

[0023] If the packet is received from the wired side, the correspondingflow must be determined. A flow profile table, described further below,is employed to match the characteristics of the message to a knownprofile of packet flows using a filter. Factors such as originator IPaddress, destination IP address, TCP/IP port number, proxy ID, andothers may be employed to match the packet to a flow via the filter. Ifthe flow is determined, the corresponding flow ID is appended to thepacket, in addition to applying the session services associated with theflow.

[0024] Flows requiring special processing provided by the sessionservices are therefore enumerated in the flow table. Packets notmatching a particular flow are deemed not to require special processingand therefore will not trigger application of session services. However,such packets will nonetheless be delivered to the proper destination viapacket routing independently of application of session services asdefined herein. Alternatively, a wildcard, or “catch all” entry (filter)may be added to the transmission profile table to cover packets which donot trigger other entries.

[0025] New flows may instantiated by a variety of ways. A particularapplication may have a need for a specific type of processing. Sessionservice tables and the corresponding transmission profile table entriesmay be downloaded from an external source, described further below.Alternatively, failure to find a match in the transmission profile tablewould be employed to initiate creation of a new transmission profileentry. If a new flow is instantiated, the flow ID is determined from thenew flow, and a traffic flow signaling message is employed to transmitthe new flow information across the wireless link 22 to the receivingflow mapper 30′.

[0026]FIG. 3 shows mapping of packet flows to session services in theflow mapper 30. Referring to FIG. 3, the tables included in the flowmapper are shown. The flow mapper 30 includes a flow table 200, atransmission profile table 202, and a session services table 204. Theflow table 200 identifies the packet flows by flow ID 206. A processfield 208 may be employed to identify the local process or processes towhich it corresponds, however the packet routing information such as theport number is actually used for delivery. Also indicated are the filter210 describing the packet flow. The transmission profile table 204 hastransmission parameters 212 which describe each packet flow. Thetransmission parameters 212 describe the profile of each packet flow sothat the packets in the flow may be identified by content, and includesa profile entry 216 for each packet flow. The transmission parametersillustrated include filter ID (FID) 214 a, type 214 b, source IP address214 c, destination IP address 214 d, Port ID 214 e, TCP/IP transmissionflags 214 f, and flow direction 214 g. The transmission parameters shownare illustrative; alternate embodiments may employ filters withalternative fields and/or information. Each profile entry 216 alsoincludes a list 218 of session services to be applied to the flow 206.Each element in the list 218 contains a session service index 220 intothe session services table 204, which indicates the applicable sessionservice 222. The session service table 204 contains session serviceentries 224, referenced by session service index 220, described furtherbelow. Note that the session service index 220 in the session servicelist 218 is shown as illustrative. Other mechanisms for associating thesession services 222 to a profile entry 216 can be implemented and willbe apparent to those skilled in the art, such as inclusion of sessionservices 222 directly in the transmission profile table 202 or alternatepointer or array referencing, depending on a particular implementation.

[0027] Therefore, the applicable session service 222 to be applied to aparticular message packet is determined in the flow mapper 30 byidentifying the flow through either the flow ID 206 or profile entry216, and mapping from the profile entry 216 to the corresponding sessionservice entries 224, indicative of the session service(s) 222 to beapplied. As indicated above, the message packets mapped by the flowmapper 30 include incoming and outgoing message packets. Message packetsreceived over the wireless link (22, FIG. 2) from a remote flow mapper30 have a flow ID 206 identified and append to the message packet,allowing a lookup in the flow table 200. Message packets received fromthe wired link 20, 24 for transmission over the wireless link 22 areidentified by matching a profile entry 216 in the transmission profiletable 202. The flow mapper 30 illustrated is shown from the perspectiveof the subscriber 14 for illustrative purposes, and is equallyapplicable to either endpoint of the wireless link 22.

[0028]FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for mapping packet flows to sessionservices. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 2, an incoming packet is detected bythe flow mapper 30, as depicted at step 100. A check is performed todetermine if the incoming packet was received from the wireless link 22or a wired link 20, 24, as shown at step 102. As described above, theflow mapper 30 resides on both endpoints of the wireless link 22. If thepacket was received from the wireless link 22, then the flow ID wasappended to the message prior to transmission. A lookup is performed ina flow table to match the packet to a packet flow, as disclosed at step104. The flow ID is indexed into the session service table, as shown atstep 120. The corresponding session service is determined, as shown atstep 122, and applied to the message packet, as shown at step 124. Thepacket is then sent to the corresponding process P1-P3 via the wiredlink 24, as shown at step 126.

[0029] If the packet was received from the wired link 20, 24, then acomparison is performed with the message packet characteristics in atransmission profile table, as depicted at step 106, also describedfurther below. A check is performed to determine if a match was found inthe transmission profile table, as shown at step 108. If a match was notfound, then either session services are not required for this packet, ora new flow entry is created, through an exchange of traffic flowsignaling messages, as depicted at step 110 and described above withrespect to FIG. 3. If a match was found, the flow ID is read from thetransmission profile table, as depicted at step 111. In either case, thenewly created or found flow ID is appended to the message, as disclosedat step 112. The corresponding session service is indexed in the sessionservice table, as shown at step 114, and applied to the message packet,as depicted at step 116. The message is then sent over the wireless link22 as a packet of the determined flow, as shown at step 118, for receiptby the remote flow mapper 30.

[0030] It should be noted that the flow ID determined prior to sendingthe wireless transmission is determined as described above and appendedto the message prior to transmission. The flow Id may be appended in avariety of ways known to those skilled in the art. In a particularembodiment, the flow ID is encapsulated in an additional packet headerwhich includes the flow ID. Other implementation protocols may beemployed. Upon receipt of the wireless transmission, the flow ID isstripped off to yield the packet in it's form prior to wirelesstransmission. In this manner, the flow ID may appended and removed fromthe message packet without interfering with the other delivery and datafields in the packet.

[0031]FIGS. 5a and 5 b show an example of a process instantiating a newpacket flow. Referring to FIGS. 5a, 5 b, and again to 2, process P1desires to initiate a streaming video request. Process P1 generates amessage packet 300 indicative of the request, and forwards it via thewired link 24 to the subscriber 14. The flow mapper 30 receives themessage packet 300 and attempts to find a corresponding profile entry216 in the transmission profile table 202. No match is found, so theflow mapper 30 determines it will instantiate a new packet flow in theflow mapper 30. A new flow profile entry 226 is generated for thestreaming video requests, indicative of the remote destination in field214 d′, and is assigned filter FID 106. As these requests are deemed tobe relatively small, the header compression system service is selected.A system service index 218 a is created to indicate the system service222 for header compression, as shown by system service index 218 SS3.

[0032] A new flow profile entry 228 is also created for the returnstreaming video message packets which will be received, having filterFID 107 has a source ID field 214 c′ of the streaming video sourcematching 214 d′. A system service for RT QOS (Quality of Service)processing is selected. As there is no system service 222 entry for RTQOS yet, a new entry 224 is created for system service index 218 b forSS4, and is associated with the flow profile entry 228. The RT QOSsystem service is exemplary; alternative system services for applyingflow specific processing or operations could likewise be employed.

[0033] The flow mapper 30 generates a traffic flow signaling message 302to send to the base station 16 indicative of the new flows F4 and F5.Following the traffic flow signaling message, which establishes thecomplementary system service processing at the remote flow mapper 30′,the streaming video request message 300 is framed for transmission 304via the wireless link. After processing via the remote destination 214d′, a streaming video packet 306 is received by the base station 16. Thebase station, consistent with the traffic flow signaling, matches thesource of the message with the flow profile entry 228. The flow mapper30′ appends the flow ID F5 to the message 308, and sends it over thewireless link 22 to the subscriber 14. The flow mapper 30 in thesubscriber 14 reads the flow ID F5, finds the corresponding flow ID 206in the flow table 200, and maps it to system service index SS5 for RTQOS processing.

[0034] Another streaming video request 310 is sent from process P1, anda corresponding match found for FID106 in the in the transmissionprofile table. Accordingly, system service index 218 a is found toindicate header compression, applied to the request, and sent as messagepacket 312 via flow F4. System service flow mapping continues in thismanner until the flow is no longer needed and the corresponding entriesupdated with another sequence of traffic flow signaling messages.

[0035] In an alternate embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, the system serviceindices 220 are standardized in a system service table 204 stored in acommon repository 230. The common repository is accessible via theInternet 18, and is employed to download a current version of the systemservice table 204 and versions of the system services themselves on aperiodic basis. The common repository could be a Wireless InternetFacility (WIF), LDAP directory, or other web service accessible by thesubscribers 14 and the base stations 16. A plurality 16 a-16 n of basestations may access and download the system service table 204 from thecommon repository 230. The base stations 16 a-16 n each transmit thedownloaded system service table 204 and related files to each of thesubscribers 14 a-14 n which they are in communication with. In thismanner, a standardized index for each of the applicable system servicesis maintained across the wireless communication system 10.

[0036] System services may vary in complexity and depth ofimplementation. Accordingly, executable files and other implementationdetails may undergo revisions and modifications for the same sessionservice. Periodic downloads from a common repository to upgrade and oradd system services may occur. Further, additional flow profile entries(filters) may also be added to correspond to or identify a new sessionservice or new need for a session service. In this instance, the flowprofile table may be downloaded from the common repository as well. Fora large service provider, there may be many flow mapper 30, 30′implementations deployed among many sites. Automatic, periodicdownloading of a current state of system services therefore providestimely consistency among the many flow mappers 30, 30′ which employ thesystem services.

[0037] The method of applying system services as described hereinassociates incoming packets to packet flows. The matching of messagepackets to flow profiles need not exactly match every packet in the flowto avoid disrupting the flow. Other mechanisms ensure delivery of themessage packets to the intended recipients. Application of sessionservices is intended to improve throughput by applying operations whichtend to reduce overhead and increase the speed at which a packet isrouted. If, for example, a packet between two processes which shouldhave triggered a profile for header compression did not conform to theprofile, that message packet would still be delivered, albeit withoutthe benefit of header compression. If, however, a session service isapplied at the sending side of the wireless link, then the flow ID wouldbe appended and the complementary session service, such as decompressingthe header, would be applied. Accordingly, while not all packets betweentwo processes may necessarily be matched to a particular flow profilefor sending over the wireless link, the packets that were matched, andthus processed in accordance with the system service at the sending sideof the wireless link, would receive the complementary treatment at thereceiving side of the wireless link. Therefore, the session services asdefined herein are applied consistently at both endpoints of thewireless link. Further such services may be unilateral, and performed atone point along a wireless link, or bilateral, and applied in acomplementary manner at both endpoints of the wireless link.

[0038] Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that thesystem and methods for applying system services as defined herein aredeliverable to a wireless device in many forms, including but notlimited to a) information permanently stored on non-writeable storagemedia such as ROM devices, b) information alterably stored on writeablestorage media such as floppy disks, magnetic tapes, CDs, RAM devices,and other magnetic and optical media, or c) information conveyed to acomputer through communication media, for example using basebandsignaling or broadband signaling techniques, as in an electronic networksuch as the Internet or telephone modem lines. The operations andmethods may be implemented in a software executable by a processor or asa set of instructions embedded in a carrier wave. Alternatively, theoperations and methods may be embodied in whole or in part usinghardware components, such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits(ASICs), state machines, controllers or other hardware components ordevices, or a combination of hardware, software, and firmwarecomponents.

[0039] While this invention has been particularly shown and describedwith references to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for identifying and applying sessionservices to a wireless link comprising: establishing a connectionincluding the wireless link; receiving a message for transmission viathe connection; identifying a packet flow over the wireless linkcorresponding to the received message; mapping the identified packetflow to at least one session service; and applying the mapped sessionservice to the received message.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein thewireless link further comprises a plurality of packet flows, each of thepacket flows independently corresponding to at least one sessionservice.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the packet flowfurther comprises comparing the message to a transmission profile. 4.The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing a flow IDindicative of the packet flow, and appending the flow ID to the message.5. The method of claim 4 wherein establishing a flow ID furthercomprises a traffic flow mapping message adapted to provide traffic flowmapping signaling over the wireless link.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein identifying the packet flow further comprises examining a flowII) indicative of the packet flow.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein eachof the packet flows corresponds to a stream of messages between asending process and a receiving process.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein the stream of messages corresponds to a common context.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising creating a new packet flow if noexisting packet flows corresponding to the received message areidentified.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending atraffic flow mapping message indicative of a flow ID.
 11. The method ofclaim 10 further comprising sending via the wireless link, the trafficflow mapping message between an access terminal and a base station. 12.The method of claim 1 wherein mapping the packet flows further comprisesreferencing a session service index indicative of a particular sessionservice.
 13. The method of claim 1 further comprising referencing a listof session services from a common repository, and mapping the packetflows further comprises indexing into the list from the commonrepository.
 14. A method for identifying and applying session servicesto a wireless link: receiving a message via the wireless link;identifying a packet flow over the wireless link corresponding to thereceived message; mapping the packet flow to at least one sessionservice; and applying the mapped session service to the receivedmessage.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the identifying furthercomprises examining a flow ID in the message; and indexing, via the flowID, into a flow table of flow Ids.
 16. A method for identifying andapplying session services to a connection including a wireless link:receiving a message via the connection for transmission via the wirelesslink; identifying a packet flow over the wireless link corresponding tothe received message; mapping the packet flow to at least one sessionservice; and applying the mapped session service to the message fortransmission.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein identifying furthercomprises: examining transmission parameters of the message; comparingthe transmission parameters to a transmission profile of known packetflows; and matching, based on the transmission parameters, one of thetransmission profiles.
 18. A method for identifying and applying sessionservices to a wireless link comprising: establishing a wireless linkbetween an access terminal and a base station; receiving a packet fortransmission via the wireless link; identifying a plurality of packetflows within the wireless link, each packet flow corresponding to apacket stream context; comparing the packet flow to the plurality ofpacket stream contexts; matching the received packet to a packet streamcontext based on the comparing; identifying at least one session servicecorresponding to the packet stream context; and applying the at leastone session service to the packet.
 19. The method of claim 18 furthercomprising applying the session service to other packets in the packetflow.
 20. A system for identifying and applying session services to awireless link comprising: a connection including a wireless link, thewireless link having at least one packet flow corresponding to a flowcontext; a flow mapper operable to receive a message via the connectionand identify a packet flow corresponding to the received message; a flowtable in the flow mapper operable to map the identified packet flow toat least one session service; and a system service manager operable toapply the at least one session service to the received message.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20 wherein the wireless link further comprises aplurality of packet flows, each of packet flows independentlycorresponding to at least one session service.
 22. The system of claim20 further comprising a transmission profile table wherein the flowmapper is further operable identify the packet flow by comparing themessage to the transmission profile table.
 23. The system of claim 20wherein the message further comprises a flow ID indicative of the packetflow.
 24. The system of claim 23 further comprises a traffic flowmapping message operable to provide traffic flow mapping signaling ofthe flow ID over the wireless link.
 25. The system of claim 23 whereinthe flow table further includes the flow ID and the flow mapper isfurther operable to identify the packet flow by indexing the flow ID.26. The system of claim 20 further comprising a sending process and areceiving process wherein each of the packet flows corresponds to astream of messages between the sending process and the receivingprocess.
 27. The system of claim 20 wherein each of the at least one ofthe packet flows further comprises a stream of packets corresponding toa common context.
 28. The system of claim 20 wherein the flow mapper isfurther operable to create a new packet flow if no existing packet flowscorrespond to the received message are identified.
 29. The system ofclaim 20 wherein the traffic flow mapper is further operable to create anew packet flow in response to a traffic flow mapping message.
 30. Thesystem of claim 20 further comprising an access terminal and a basestation operable communication via the wireless link.
 31. The system ofclaim 20 further comprising a session service index indicative of aparticular session service.
 32. The system of claim 32 furthercomprising a session service table including a list of session serviceswherein the flow mapper is further operable to map the packet flow byexamining the session service table.
 33. The system of claim 33 whereinthe flow mapper is further operable to access the session service tablefrom a common repository.
 34. A computer program product having computerprogram code for identifying and applying session services to a wirelesslink comprising: computer program code for establishing a connectionincluding the wireless link; computer program code for receiving amessage for transmission via the connection; computer program code foridentifying a packet flow over the wireless link corresponding to thereceived message; computer program code for mapping the identifiedpacket flow to at least one session service; and computer program codefor applying the mapped session service to the received message.
 35. Acomputer data signal having program code for identifying and applyingsession services to a wireless link comprising: program code forestablishing a connection including the wireless link; program code forreceiving a message for transmission via the connection; program codefor identifying a packet flow over the wireless link corresponding tothe received message; program code for mapping the identified packetflow to at least one session service; and program code for applying themapped session service to the received message.
 36. A system foridentifying and applying session services to a wireless link comprising:means for establishing a connection including the wireless link; meansfor receiving a message for transmission via the connection; means foridentifying a packet flow over the wireless link corresponding to thereceived message; means for mapping the identified packet flow to atleast one session service; and means for applying the mapped sessionservice to the received message.